Oculus Rift vs. Morpheus vs. Vive VR

Virtual reality gaming has gained momentum in the last few years, with the Oculus Rift, Sony's Project Morpheus, and Valve's HTC Vive each pitching forward their own take on the virtual space. As VR hardware draws closer to a consumer launch, which are you most interested in picking up? To help out, we list and compare the specifications and game library of the Oculus Rift, Project Morpheus, and HTC Vive.

Oculus Rift

Release Date

Q1 2016

Specifications

• Resolution: 2160×1200
• Screen: 5.7" OLED (DK2, may change)
• Refresh rate: 90Hz (split over dual displays)
• Field of view: 100 degrees
• Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer
• Connection: HDMI, USB 2.0, USB 3.0

Games

The Oculus Rift is traditionally supported by a PC, although Oculus VR vice president Nate Mitchell has not ruled out the possibility of bringing the hardware to the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. Oculus has confirmed that a rather "beefy" PC rig will be required to support the Rift, and will release a list of required PC technical specifications in the lead-up to E3.

Oculus VR was purchased by Facebook in March last year, which expressed plans to extend the hardware's use beyond gaming to "communications, media and entertainment, education, and other areas."

The company has released a list of recommended PC specifications to get the "full Rift experience." Here's a list that includes games that currently have full support for the Oculus Rift:

• Adrift
• Among the Sleep
• Daylight
• Dirt Rally
• Elite: Dangerous
• Euro Truck Simulator 2
• Grid Autosport
• Half-Life 2
• Half-Life: Source
• Hawken
• Project Cars
• Slender: The Arrival
• Strike Suit Zero
• Surgeon Simulator 2013
• Team Fortress 2
• Trackmania 2
• War Thunder

Project Morpheus

Release Date

First half of 2016

Specifications

• Resolution: 1920x1080
• Screen: 5.7" OLED
• Refresh rate: 120Hz, 60Hz
• Field of view: Approximately 100 degrees
• Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyroscope
• Connection: HDMI, USB

Games

Sony's Project Morpheus will be supported by the PlayStation 4 and, allegedly, the PlayStation Vita. Games that have confirmed Morpheus support include Project Cars, Surgeon Simulator, and Among the Sleep.

At past events, Sony has showcased Project Morpheus running demos that included a special re-worked version of Thief, EVE Valkyrie, a game from Sony's London studio called The Deep, and a game titled The Castle. Early builds incorporated usage of PlayStation Move controllers.

Sony has confirmed that Project Morpheus will be able to support online multiplayer and local couch multiplayer. Some of Sony's first partners for Project Morpheus include Epic Games, Unity, Crytek, and Autodesk. God of War studio Sony Santa Monica has created a prototype that allowed the user to become Kratos. Sony has also partnered with NASA to create a demo that places the player on the surface of Mars.

At GDC this year Sony boss Shuhei Yoshida said many of Sony's studios were working on games for the Morpheus and said, "starting probably at E3, we will start to show the actual games."

Valve's HTC Vive

Release Date

Holiday 2015

Specifications

• Resolution: 1200x1800 (per eye)
• Screen size: TBC
• Refresh rate: 90Hz
• Field of view: TBC
• Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyrosensor, laser position sensor
• Connection: HDMI, USB 2.0, USB 3.0

Games

Valve's Vive headset will be powered by SteamVR software, with games to be available "soon" through digital distribution platform Steam.

Microsoft Flight Simulator X developer Dovertail Games, The Room developer Fireproof Games, and Cloudhead games have already signed up to make content for the device. Google, Lionsgate, and HBO have also been confirmed as content partners. At GDC this year developer Owlchemy Labs debuted one of the first games designed specifically for Valve's SteamVR, titled Job Simulator.

The Vive makes use of Lighthouse, a motion tracking technology which uses lasers to read the position of a VR helmet and reproduce a person’s real-world movements with accuracy. The headset will support use of Valve's Steam Controller. Those waiting on a Half-Life game for the Vive may be waiting a while though, as Valve is reportedly not currently working on a new Half-Life game for VR.